Federal Laws Protecting Employees in the Workplace
Introduction: There are a number of federal laws protecting employees in the workplace. Included in them are the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. According to Dana Shilling in her book "Human Resources and the Law," the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) was passed to protect older workers who are still able to carry out vital job functions. Under the ADEA, employers with twenty or more employees are prohibited from discriminating against employees over forty years of age in hiring, compensation or other employment related areas including training, promotions or layoffs and terminations. The ADEA does not prohibit the discharge of employees over the age of forty for good cause or employee misconduct. The ADEA does prohibit employers for retaliating against older
Over the years, several other serious problems involving the CRA have been addressed through amendments. In any scenario in which retaliation by an employer is alleged, the burden of proving it can be difficult according to Shilling. For example, in 1991 the CRA was amended to allow for jury trials of employers accused of some form of employment related discrimination. Those who favored passing the Civil Rights Act (CRA) into law in the early 1960s were concerned about the manner in which Blacks and other minorities were treated in their search for housing, job and education for their children, and the way they were treated on the job. The compelling reason for this change is that the addition of punitive and compensatory damages gave more muscle to the Civil Rights Act - resulting in more employers taking this federal regulation more seriously. This amendment include provisions for punitive as well as for compensatory damages caused by the employer and suffered by the employee. Under the ADEA, the basis for termination must be a reasonable factor other than age. In the case of the ADEA, Shilling writes that a prima facia case for an ADEA lawsuit would be one in which the following criteria are met:The plaintiff or complainant is part of the protected group meaning he or she is over fortyThe plaintiff was qualified for the position that he or she held or was applying forThe plaintiff was discharged, not hired, demoted, not given a raise, or in some other way was discriminated against on the basis of age (Shilling, 1998)The Civil Rights ActIntroduction: According to Mike Deblieux in his book "Legal Issues for Managers," Title VII of the Civil Rights Act forbids employers from discriminating on the basis or age, race, religion, nationality or pregnancy status, and it covers employers with fifteen or more employees. Under Title VII, discrimination on the basis of religion is prohibited, and employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for an employee's religious practices and observances. It also resulted, in human resources professionals and senior managers becoming more diligent in observing the termination process in the workplace (Deblieux, 1997). The Act was amended in 1972 when it gave the Equal Employment Opportunity commission (EEOC) the right to file suit against employers. Minorities and women were routinely discriminated against in hiring, promotions, termination, discipline, work duties, training, and in determining whether or not they qualified for fringe benefits. workers that file complaints under the ADEA alleging that they are being discriminated against because of their membership in a protected class. Each federal law that protects workers has a different set of facts and factors used to determine if there is a prima facia case for a lawsuit.
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